The Sobrino de Botín restaurant, the oldest in the world
Updated on the day : 04/15/2020 From Don Quixote to the founding of the Communist Party, passing through a Goya converted into a dishwasher, or the Literary gatherings of the Generation of 27 . we tour five of the centenary gastronomic temples of Madrid following their stories, their anecdotes, and of course, the culinary specialties of each one of them. Among all: 888 years of chitterlings , anecdotes and characters that have been drawing the life of this brave capital. We are looking forward to visiting them again.
1- BOTIN'S NEPHEW (better known as Plain Botín): the oldest in the world.
Born in: 1725, the same year that Giacomo Casanova did it and that the Treaty of Vienna between Spain and the Holy Roman Empire was signed.
Years: 295. It is the oldest in the world (and thus appears in Guinness) for three reasons: because it has always had the same name, because has never closed and because it has always managed the same activity.
Address: Cuchilleros Street, 17.
What to eat: their specialty is suckling pig and lamb, which they roast in an original tiled oven, and with oak firewood , following an ancient recipe. They have a summer menu with gazpacho, suckling pig and ice cream for 44 euros.
That we like: eating there is like doing it in a museum, both for its history and for the decoration (wooden beams, tiles, plans of Madrid from 1561, photographs...) and the cellar, which communicated with the old wall of Madrid and allowed to flee in case of need.
Anecdote: in the same street there is an old barbershop, The Kinze of Cutlers . Specifically, the oldest in Madrid (opened on January 2, 1900), specializing in traditional shaving with a brush and razor, for which they have gone from Lorca to Ortega y Gasset. Dear hipsters, your thing has been going around for three centuries now.
Now : If you want to continue eating one of his suckling pigs, you can order it at 1725 Gourmet. On the other hand, the restaurant has launched a charity raffle for 10 piglets from Segovia to benefit the Red Cross. The shares are worth 10 euros. Hurry up, the draw takes place today.
Witnessed…: Goya it was dishwasher here and Hemingway or Perez Galdos they speak of him in his works: death in the afternoon Y Party , in the case of the American, and Fortunate and Jacinta , in that of the canary. So do John Dos Passos or Francis Scott Fitzgerald.
Los Galayos, suckling pig and red meat in the Plaza Mayor
2- THE GALAYS: The last meeting of the generation of 27.
Born in: 1894 as Casa Rojo, the same one that was born John Ford either Aldous Huxley , and when bottled coke was first sold.
Years: 126.
Address: Calle Botoneras, 5. Corner Plaza Mayor, 1.
What to eat: famous for the suckling pig that they cook for eight hours, and the red meats in addition to any Castilian food dish. As value for money, We are convinced by their portions of Iberian ham in the bar section.
That we like: Two factors make it especially attractive as that the kitchen is open all day and that, in summer, its terrace (yes, it will come) overlooks the Plaza Mayor (so you can take a selfie taking a relaxing cup of coffee with milk).
Anecdote: the wonderful wooden bar at the entrance to Botoneras is from the early 19th century.
He witnessed...: the last meeting of the members of the generation of 27 , in 1936, whose photo is proudly exhibited in one of the rooms with Luis Cernuda, Aleixandre, Lorca, Rafael Alberti, Neruda and Miguel Hernández. Here too, according to Pérez Reverte, El Capitán Alatriste was “born”.
Casa Alberto, oxtail and vermouth
3- ALBERTO'S HOUSE: where was it written The Quijote.
Born in: 1867, at the same time Ruben Dario, Frank Lloyd Wright and in the same year that the industrial production of dynamite by Nobel took place.
Years: 193. It's the second restaurant oldest in Madrid, in the neighborhood of Las Letras.
Address: Huertas street, 18.
What to eat: is the place if you want to eat authentic Madrid cuisine . They are all there: the snails, the tripe, the pig's trotters and the stew. Beware of his bull's tail. They serve their own vermouth on tap (which they also sell in bottles) and keep their seltzer saturator (where the sparkling water is made).
That we like: Almost everything stays the same: spittoons , shooters, the amazing onyx bar , the traditional measuring containers, the wooden skirting boards, the tin sink with a faucet in the shape of a dog's head, and the cash register.
Anecdote: The brown color of its facade, typically Galdosian (which covers the entire building), was the code that indicated that meat and wine were served here.
He witnessed…: Cervantes lived in this same building between 1613 and 1614, the time in which he wrote Journey to Parnassus, The works of Persiles and Segismunda and, above all, the second part of The Quijote.
Grandpa's house, prawns everywhere
4- GRANDFATHER'S HOUSE: Warhol's hideout
Years: 114.
Born in: 1906, at the same time as sport, billy wilder and the first radio broadcast in the United States.
Address: Calle Victoria, 12. Now they have other stores, in Goya, 57; in Nuñez Arce.
What to eat: without any doubt, garlic prawns and prawns. The new additions were the gabardine prawns and the prawn croquettes . The floor full of shrimp shells has been the protagonist of many photos.
Soldiers of Pavia and other delicacies at Casa Labra
That we like: have a sweet wine from Alicante ( in fact, it used to be called La Alicantina ) along with a heterogeneous mix of tourists and parishioners. Its costumbrista mirror with the drawings and prices of the portions.
Anecdote: at first it had specialized in sandwiches, the tradition began at the time of the Civil War when, curiously, the prawns were very cheap (they cost, according to what they say, 35 pesetas a killo).
He witnessed...: escapades of many characters from entertainment, bullfighting and culture. Andy Warhol was one of them.
Now: we love your hashtag #taking care of grandparents
5- WORK HOUSE: communist codfish.
Born in: 1860, at the same time Isaac Albeniz either Antony Chekhov.
Years: 160.
Address: Tetouan, 12.
What to eat: everything that has to do with him cod : the cod with tomato taco is one of the best in the city. Unlike other places (like the Revuelta bar, for example, here it has a central spine, which gives it a lot of juiciness). In addition to the Cod croquettes , calls are served Soldiers of Pavia , fried cod bites, whose name refers to the uniform of the Spanish army in the battle of Pavia in 1525.
That we like: its location, next to the Sun Gate , its mirror acid-painted sign with modernist letters and the original decoration of its interior.
Anecdote: belongs to the saga of the "Manuel" Molina since 1947.
He witnessed…: On May 2, 1878, a group formed by 16 printing workers , four doctors, a scientist, a jeweler, a cobbler and a stonemason met clandestinely to eat on his second floor and founded the Spanish Socialist Worker's Party , whose first president was paul churches . The previous meetings had taken place at the Café Brillante and the Café Lisboa.